Leonardo DiCaprio Raves About “Revenant”

The biggest question marks left in the upcoming awards season race are two acclaimed auteur’s period films which are both set in the harsh survival conditions of the snow-engulfed American frontier. Both films – Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “The Revenant” are due out at Christmas and have yet to screen.

One key difference between them though is that ‘Hateful’ is along Tarantino’s usual lines where dialogue and character are the big draw. Inarritu’s film on the other hand seems far more about atmosphere, mood and tone. The trailers have been flat out astonishing, showing the remarkable production which was shot entirely in natural light on tough locations and only at specific times of day to get the light “just right”.

Speaking with Yahoo Movies, the film’s star Leonardo DiCaprio can’t help but be proud of the project which he admits was one of the single hardest films he’s ever had to make:

“It’s going to be one of the most unique film-going experiences that audiences have seen in modern times. I can name 30 or 40 sequences that were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in animal carcasses, or what I ate on set. [I was] enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly… [Inarritu is] vigilant and incredibly specific about what he wants up on screen, and he won’t accept anything less.”

Asked about the competition from the new “Star Wars” which opens a week earlier, DiCaprio thinks there’s plenty of room for both films:

“There’s always room at the top. I’m going to be in line for ‘Star Wars’ as well. What’s great about this time of year is, as you know, they save the best for last in most cases. And hopefully, it just means more people are excited to go to the movies. I think that people know this time of year is where a lot of great pieces of art are going to come out. I would never think that we’d be able to compete with ‘Star Wars’-that’s something that’s embedded in our cultural DNA. But I think when people begin to hear about this movie, they’ll want to go see it. And that’s all we can hope for.”